On Anger

"The Fish" by Elizabeth Bishop (1946)

Bishop’s poem is arguably the most famous modern poem about a fish and letting go. The fishes in both Bishop’s and Hezekiah’s poems include a juxtaposition of iridescence and gore. Bishop writes about “shiny entrails,” and Hezekiah writes about a “gutted fish, / silvery skin gleaming.” However, while Bishop’s speaker “let[s] the fish go,” Hezekiah’s speaker confesses she “do[esn’t] want to let this go.” In a way, Hezekiah condenses Bishop’s extended description of the fish into a two-line allusion, building emotional resonance off the association.

"Elliptical" by Harryette Mullen (2002)

In Mullen’s poem, there are a number of ellipses that stand in for prescriptive (rule-making) statements said to Black women. The ellipse that follows Mullen’s phrase “We all wish they weren’t so” could be filled with “angry,” the stereotype about Black women that is investigated in Hezekiah’s poem. The incomplete thoughts in Mullen’s poem could also include other stereotypes about BIPOC, and overall give the reader a sense of how Hezekiah’s speaker feels about judgements made by white women in a supposedly polite, concerned

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now